What To Do When Your Get-Up-And-Go Has Got Up And Went

“When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite [positive] ones should be thought of. This is pratipaksha bhavana.” Patanjali, Yoga Sutra 2.33

Finding More Energy

Sooo tired. Ever had that dragging, listless feeling when even getting up to make a much-needed pot of tea seems like too much work?

I’ve been experiencing that a lot lately. The past few months have brought some health challenges for my husband, and we’ve been taking the recovery period one day at a time. We took a week at Christmas and went to Grenada, missing the hustle and bustle of the season for the most part. I wasn’t sorry to miss it. Except for getting together with family and friends, I don’t enjoy the crazy hectic pace of the season, or watching the glazed, exhausted look that so many people have in their eyes as they mentally contemplate (I imagine) their never-ending lists of things they need to do before December 25.

It was a lovely break, and now, already halfway in January, looking forward to a new year, and more challenges. More recovery time is needed, and we’re still taking it a day at a time.

Maybe you're facing the February blahs. What do you do when you’re too tired to make a pot of tea but you need to keep going? Here are a few things that might help.

1. Accept where you’re at. Sometimes we just want to hide from life, and as a wise sage has said, sometimes your worst is good enough.
2. Are you breathing? Holding the breath when we’re feeling anxious or stressed is a natural reaction. Stop, take a deep breath, and let it out slowly.  If this is challenging, try pursing your lips when breathing out, as if blowing through a straw. Try this a few times.
3. Holding tension in your shoulders? Shrug them a few times, letting the world fall off. See how much better that feels?
4. Practise doing one thing at a time. There’s a terrible myth circulating that multi-tasking is possible. Don’t believe it. It’s not. The brain functions very poorly when it’s trying to multitask (I’m still working on this one!)
5. Too many things on your to-do list? Ask yourself what really needs to get done today. Then break that task down into smaller steps. Do one of them. If that’s too much, visualize doing one of them. You’ll get there. (It’s how I finally got this newsletter written!)
6. Give yourself a hug. Take a break for a minute or two and tell yourself how proud you are to have yourself by your side. Feel silly? Maybe - and what's wrong with feeling silly, anyway? - but it’s practising the opposite of a habit I’ve noticed both in myself and many of my clients. We have a little voice in our head that’s constantly telling us we’re not good enough. PS - go back to #1.

Need to practise the opposite of what you’re doing? A gentle yoga or restorative class might be just the ticket. See the schedule here.